Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Ice Ice Vo Vo

A while back I discussed how everyone has a preferred biscuit.Well, one of my favourites is the one and only Iced Vo Vo. Loved by Australians nation wide, this biscuit has been part of our afternoon ritual of tea and biscuits with our grannies for generations.The other day I was day dreaming about biting into this soft cookie when inspiration struck - why not turn the unique flavours of an Iced Vo Vo into ice cream? (Look, we all know I can't resist another reason to whip out the ice cream maker.) So I wrote the idea down and didn't think about it for awhile.

Then a few weeks later I found myself once again fantasising about the biscuit and thought I'd better get onto it before I started having night terrors of Iced Vo Vo deprivation. And so I put my thinking cap on over the top of my rather crushed party hat and got to planning.

The thing about these little beauties is that they don't really have a specific flavour... If you haven't had the pleasure of eating one, first of all you're crazy, but second of all they are just a plain sweet biscuit base, with a pink icing top divided down the middle by a strip of raspberry jam, and finished off with a generous sprinkling of coconut. Sounds simple enough, but when all 3 elements combine they create a discintive Iced Vovo taste, which in the opinion of me and Kevin Rudd, is irresistable.

I decided to recreate this by creating a swirl of sweet but tart raspberry sauce throughout a basic vanilla icecream laced with coconut and a hint of rosewater, topped off with some crunchy sweet biscuits. Of course, instead of making your own icecream you could buy a nice tub of vanilla from the shops and add in coconut, raspberry jam and a few crushed up biscuits but I think you can't beat the real deal.

Just don't forget you aren't actually eating a biscuit and accidentally dunk your ice cream cone in your cup of tea, otherwise you'll end up with a melted ball of goo and stone cold tea. Not that I've personally made that embarrassing mistake or anything...

Iced Vo Vo Ice Cream SundaeMakes about 1 litre

For the icecream:2 whole eggs2 egg yolks1/2 a cup sugar1 1/4 cup milk1 1/4 cup cream, lightly whipped 1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste1/2 teaspoon rose water1/2 teaspoon coconut essence1/2 cup lightly toasted desiccated coconutFor the berry sauce:150g strawberries, roughly chopped150g raspberries (frozen is fine)2 teaspoons of sugar1 tablespoon waterTo serve:Crushed up sweet biscuitsToasted desiccated coconutExtra berry sauceTo make the ice cream we need to start with a custard base. To do this, beat together the eggs, yolks and sugar together until pale and combined. To this, add the milk, vanilla paste, coconut essence and rose water and stir to combine. Pour mixture in a heatproof bowl and place over a simmering pot of water. Stir constantly while the mixture is over heat - you want to avoid scrambling the eggs! Continue to stir as the mixture thickens. The custard is complete when it is thick and smooth and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and leave aside to cool.Meanwhile get the berry sauce going. Place strawberries, raspberries, sugar and water in a pan over a medium heat. As the sauce heats, the berries will break down and the sugar will dissolve. Stir with a wooden spoon, using the back of it to break up the berries as they cook. The sauce is ready when all sugar is dissolved and it has thickened slightly. Leave aside to cool.Now time to combine the egg custard with the lightly whipped cream. Stir together and then add the coconut and incorporate fully. Pour ice cream mixture into ice cream maker and let it do its magic!When the machine has churned the ice cream enough, pour half of the mixture into a freeze proof container. Now add a few generous dollops of the berry sauce and then cover with the rest of the ice cream mixture and again top with the berry sauce. Leave to freeze overnight.When ready to serve, spoon a few scoops of ice cream into a bowl, top with some crumbled biscuits, some more of the coconut and the rest of the berry sauce. Enjoy!